Monday, September 7, 2009

Add One More to List of MAAC draftees

In compiling the list of former MAAC players that appears on the previous post, your blogger overlooked one individual who should be on the list ... or, maybe not.

If the list is of players who spent their entire college career in the MAAC, then it's complete.

Otherwise, we need to add Jack McClinton, a 6-foot-1 guard who spent his freshman season (2004-05) at Siena.

McClinton left after his only year with the Saints after the school fired coach Rob Lanier and transferred to Miami of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Many questioned whether he'd have any sort of success at the major college level.

But McClinton spent his redshirt year there working tirelessly on his game. Yours truly, then working as Siena's beat writer for an upstate New York newspaper, wrote about McClinton's move and recalls Miami coach Frank Haith relating that McClinton had an arrangement with the Miami maintainance staff that let him into the gym to work out at any time.

Haith spoke about McClinton spending so much time in the gym that he (Haith) often had to kick McClinton out of the facility for fear he was overdoing workouts. McClinton would leave the gym and, then, sneak back in when Haith was gone.

The hard work paid off. McClinton had three terrific seasons against ACC competition, including averaging 19.3 points per game and a 45.3 shooting percentage on three pointers. as a senior this past season.

He was the 2nd round pick of the San Antonio Spurs in this year's NBA draft, the 51st selection overall. Not coincidentally former Siena assistant coach Rob Jackson scouts college prospects for the Spurs. Although Jackson was not at Siena when McClinton was there as a freshman, he was involved in scouting and recruiting McClinton.

At Siena McClinton averaged 13.6 point, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. After moving into the Saints' starting lineup nine games into the 2004-05 season he averaged 16.4 points per contest.

He wound up with 408 points at Siena. Over his four seasons of college play he finished with a career total of 2,110 points.